Benzema responds on the field with a brace against Getafe

French International Karim Benzema, who was charged for the sex-tape scandal with national teammate Mathieu Valbuena, responded to the critics by scoring the first two goals against Getafe early in the game. Real Madrid was leading 4-0 at the break.

Coach Rafael Benitez reacts on the win:

“The first half showed everything this team has in its locker and everything they’re capable of doing in games where those players who’ve been coming back into the side can make the difference. We put in a really good 45 minutes. The team have played several very good matches. If we analyse them, there are three or four of extremely high quality. Today the team’s performance didn’t fall away in the second half: they were winning 4-0 and they sought to manage the game. The team’s intensity dropped a bit because the job was done.

By getting all three points with a great first-half display, we saw that when these players, who are so important to us, are getting into their stride and achieving good mutual coordination, they really hurt defences. The three of them found each other, got themselves on the scoresheet and worked hard for the team. They have every reason to feel pleased about that. It’s important that they play well and score goals, and that will help them keep their morale on a high.

I’d spoken to Benzema this week and the fact that he scored two goals further underlines what I’ve already said: he’s very important for us and helps the others to play well. When I spoke to him he was raring to play, and we even spoke about him scoring two goals. He met his target. He’s focused and he knows that he has to perform well on the football pitch because that will help him to tackle any problem”.

We have the utmost respect for the fans. We’re looking to put in good performances and win games to ensure our season is firmly back on course, because that way the fans will be happy. Every team his its own peculiarities. Everyone expects us to win every game, and everything to be perfect. We have to stick together and work hard to achieve what we’ve achieved today. The team’s reaction on the back of a difficult situation was very good, and that’s the main thing I’ll come away with

We focus on doing our job. Every day we try to do as well as possible. Social media enables a lot of people to express their opinions without knowing what’s happening on the inside. I’m optimistic; I see a team with the ability to keep on progressing and I’m calm, because I can see that everyone is giving it their all”.